The Blog / Archive

Last week, I had the singular pleasure of watching a keynote speaker I had coached absolutely nail the speech she was giving. She was wearing a fabulous fuchsia suit, which she loved and wore brilliantly. Her speaking style was clear, appealing, funny, and enthusiastic. Her clothes and her speaking style were uniquely her. Different occasions call for different outfits. Similarly, we use a different communication style when we’re talking to our best friend, our boss, and the people gathered at a memorial service. No matter what, though, you should feel like the clothes—and the communication style–belong to you. My client’s … Read more

I was thinking recently about a time I was directing a play, and one of the actors was very hard to hear. The role was a curt, brusque military man—a person who makes his presence felt wherever he goes. Clearly, a person like that needs to be heard! For several days, I mentioned in rehearsal that I couldn’t hear him very well, and pointed out that I was sitting close to the performing space. Audience members at the back of the theatre would have no chance of hearing him. He nodded, agreed, and kept speaking softly. Sometimes the other actors … Read more

Ignite CSP senior coach Vivian Smith shares a few tips about what to do with your hands–

Clients often ask us why we don’t want them to memorize a presentation. “Isn’t that the best way to make sure I remember everything?”  Aside from the fact that remembering every word you planned isn’t the most important aspect of your presentation, the problem with memorizing is that your voice doesn’t sound the same as when you’re genuinely connecting with your audience. Really? Really. The cadence, inflection, pace, and volume of your voice are affected by the task of remembering your presentation. When you memorize, the words and phrases fall into small chunks you can recall, and often those phrases … Read more

When is it important to show your work? I’m watching the 2022 CrossFit Games as I write this. This is a massive, multi-day athletic competition that tests athletes’ skill, strength, and endurance over five days. It culminates in crowning one male and one female winner.  Each athlete has a judge who is in lockstep with the athlete throughout the event, letting them know at every rep if their work passes or if they have to repeat it.  In the event happening now, the athletes have to do lunges across a long field while they’re carrying a heavy barbell. There’s not … Read more

I’ve been reading and working through a revolutionary book. It’s not Karl Marx or Brene Brown or the latest by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s “Become a Supple Leopard,” by Dr. Kelly Starrett. Starrett is a physical therapist and trainer, and he started out as an athlete himself, paddling for the US canoeing and kayaking teams. In this hefty book, Starrett takes the reader through the mechanics of the body, explains where chronic pain and limited function come from, and details hundreds of techniques to get the body back in effective position (and out of pain). The title of the book … Read more

Many people find silence difficult: a pause of even a few seconds can feel awkward and interminable. As a result, they keep talking, to fill the void. The immediate goal, to avoid silence, is met. But what’s the unintended consequence? The other person can have a hard time getting their voice heard. If this is an ongoing relationship, the more quiet person may never get to really express themselves, and in fact may start to rely on the talkative person to carry the conversational weight.  If you’re managing people and it feels to like you do most of the talking … Read more

Have you ever asked someone for directions to a location they know well, and it goes like this: “Well, once you get on the highway and you go about five minutes, you’ll see an exit to…” I don’t know about you, but for me, these directions start way too late. I need to know how to get to the highway, starting from where I’m standing right now. When you’re the expert, it’s hard to know how much someone else knows about the topic of your expertise. Are they like me with directions—start at the very beginning, and don’t assume anything? … Read more

People give a ton of bad public speaking advice. I’m sure it’s well-intentioned, but it’s counter-productive. Here is some of my favorite bad advice: The advice-givers mean well, but all of these tips backfire. Here’s what I suggest instead: Practice in a mirror:  Video yourself practicing. Looking in the mirror is distracting and doesn’t allow you the objective distance to assess your performance. Clasp your hands behind your back: Keep your hands loosely clasped in front of you, available to use for gesturing, or down by your sides.  When you walk around it keeps the audience interested: Keep the audience interested by being interesting. Create your content with them in … Read more